Cold Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad

This recipe for Cold Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad was entered in JSL Foods Fortune Asian Noodle Blogger Recipe Challenge. A sample of JSL Foods Yaki-Soba Noodles were provided for use in this recipe. The recipe and product opinions are 100% my own.

You’re going to love this Asian inspired Cold Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad made with Yaki-Soba noodles and fresh veggies with a Sesame dressing. It’s light & healthy, easy to prepare, and can be served vegan (without the chicken).

I really do love Asian dishes because they’re light, healthy, and easy to make. Add noodles to it and I’m all in.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really feel like cooking much in the summer heat, which makes Asian dishes a favorite meal for summertime.

This Cold Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad is perfect for those kind of days because you can throw it together for your family in less than 30 minutes without turning on the oven. Plus, it uses the fresh vegetables of summer.

I love the ease of these Yaki-Soba noodles, just soak in hot water until they separate and soften, then rinse with cool water and add to your salad.

Easy Peasy!

Chop the Napa cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots (your food processor makes this step easier), cook up the chicken, toss together the remaining ingredients, and dinner is on the table.

Now I added chicken to my salad, but if you don’t eat meat, you can leave it out. Your salad will still taste delicious.

My inspiration for this Cold Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad came after entering JSL foods Fortune Asian Noodle Blogger Recipe Challenge. All entrants were asked to create a recipe using one of their noodle products, I chose the Yaki-Soba noodles for my cold noodle dish.

When I received the noodles, they were refrigerated. Since I wasn’t going to be using them right away, I tossed them in my freezer. One month later and they were just as fresh as the day I got them, after unthawing in hot water.

Although the noodles came with a seasoning packet, I made my own sauce for this salad, a sesame dressing. I think you’ll agree, the sesame dressing really enhances the flavors of this salad. It doesn’t coat it like a creamy or oily dressing would, letting you enjoy the salad, and not just the dressing.

You can purchase JSL Foods Yaki-Soba noodles for this recipe at your local Target store. For more recipe ideas and noodle products, follow JSL Foods on Facebook and Twitter.

Have this delicious Cold Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad on your table in 30 minutes along with a homemade Sesame dressing that's light & tangy, without being too oily, like the others. The prefect meal for those hot summer days when you don't feel like cooking.

Ingredients

For the salad:

1 pack of Yaki-Soba noodles

12 leaves of Napa cabbage (about 1/2 head), rinsed and chopped

1/2 head red cabbage, quartered and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 cups sugar snap peas

2 cups snow peas

1 cup diced celery

1 cup Mung bean sprouts

2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

For Asian chicken:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1/3 cup coconut water

1/2 Tablespoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon ginger puree

2 teaspoons Asian chili garlic sauce

Dash red pepper flakes (Optional)

1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

For the Sesame Dressing:

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

2 Tablespoons light soy sauce

1 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon + 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Sesame oil

2 Tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons ginger puree

3/4 teaspoon Asian chili garlic sauce

1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds

Instructions

To make Salad:

Place noodles in 3 cups hot water, set aside.

Chop Napa cabbage in food processor. Place in large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Sprinkle sesame seeds over chicken and continue to cook for about 5 minutes or until sesame seeds are lightly toasted, whichever comes first. If you have a lot of liquid, sesame seeds should not toast. However, if most of your liquid has cooked down, sesame seeds will toast quickly and you do not want to burn them.

Remove pan from heat and let cool.

To Prepare Sesame Dressing:

Combine all ingredients into a small jar, place lid on top and tighten.

Shake well.

To Serve:

Mix drained noodles and Asian chicken in with cabbage mix.

Spoon onto plates.

Lightly pour dressing over the top.

Garnish with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds.

Notes

- Red pepper flakes are optional as they add a little spice to the chicken.

- I used Fresh coconut water to make my Asian chicken. Store bought coconut water should taste the same, but if you get a chance, try the Thai fresh young green coconut for the coconut water.

- If you notice from the photos, I added my black sesame seeds separately when I first made the dressing. The second batch of dressing, I mixed them in and like it better.

- This pertains only to the salad ( Not the Asian chicken or Sesame Dressing): You can always add more of an ingredient than what I have listed to the salad, like more Napa cabbage, less red cabbage, more Mung beans, etc.

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